Friendly in Moscow Return Russia - France friendly games program

Christian Karembeu, who scored crucial goals in both legs of Real Madrid's European Cup quarterfinal victory over Bayer Leverkusen, won a recall to France's World Cup squad Thursday.

Karembeu, fellow midfielders Emmanuel Petit of Arsenal and Sabri Lamouchi of AJ Auxerre and SC Karlsruhe forward Marc Keller were all recalled in an 18-man squad for a friendly against Russia in Moscow on March 25.

The friendly is the penultimate warmup before Jacquet names his 22-man squad for the World Cup finals.

It is also France's first away game in 10 matches since beating Portugal 2-0 in Braga in January 1997.

"We're looking to perfect the team with each performance. Russia are interesting adversaries, a tough team whom won't be at the World Cup but who we'll meet in the Euro 2000 qualifiers," Jacquet said.

"They played very well against Italy in Naples [in their World Cup playoff in November]. Our Italian friends were scared."

Answering doubts as to the validity of playing a World Cup warmup in the cold of Moscow, Jacquet said: "It's a different context that will be good towards the mental preparation of the team."

Karembeu last played for his country in the 2-2 draw against Italy in the final match of the Tournoi de France in Paris last June.

Having sat out the first half of this season because of his conflict with Sampdoria, Karembeu has only recently regained some of his best form since his transfer to Real in January.

Lamouchi has been out of the picture since October 1996 when he was injured in the 4-0 win over Turkey in Paris.

"We have the true Sabri Lamouchi again at the moment," Jacquet said of the player who helped Auxerre reach the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.

Both Ibrahim Ba of AC Milan and Olympique Marseille's Claude Makelele have played right of midfield in France's last matches without being very convincing.

Petit gets another chance to stake his claim for a place in Jacquet's World Cup squad after missing the last two games since he appeared in the 2-1 win over Scotland in St. Etienne in November.

He has played a significant part in Arsenal's challenge for Manchester United's English Premier League title. Keller, like Karembeu, last played in the Tournoi de France in the 1-0 defeat by England in Montpellier.

With Marseille's Laurent Blanc injured and Bixente Lizarazu struggling to win a first team place at Bayern Munich since his recovery from injury, Jacquet has picked only four defenders.

He said he was entering a phase of preparation in which players would have to work on their tactical versatility and look at changing from a four-man to a three-man defense during the course of a match.

Jacquet has not ruled out a World Cup place for goalkeeper Bernard Lama, also on the sidelines for months before his recent debut and good form for West Ham United.